Journal of

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Background and Aim: Shampoos are surfactant systems to clean hair and body. Two kinds of surfactants are generally used in shampoo formulations: anionic and amphoteric. These agents, especially anionic ones may cause skin irritation and dryness after bathing. So, using a simple and fast method to determine the types and concentrations of surfactants can help to choose a product with high efficacy and low side effects. This study was aimed to determine surfactant concentrations using potentiometric titration method. Methods: Ten hair and body shampoos were selected from Iran's market to determine concentration of anionic and amphoteric surfactants using potentiometric titration method with prepared standard solution. Results: All formulations contain both surfactants, but one formulation did not have the amphoteric one. Conclusion: When we want to choose a shampoo for irritated and dry skin, formulations with more amphoteric surfactant should be chosen because they are much milder on the skin in comparison with anionic surfactants. Potentiometric method which was described in this study is one of the easiest ways to find out which shampoo is suitable for each patient.

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The use of sunscreens should also be recommended in order to work against all kind of ultarviolet (UV)-induced skin damage such as photoallergies, skin wrinkles, sunburn or even skin cancer. Sunscreens contain chemical filters (organic absorb regularly UVB radiation) and physical filters (e.g., TiO2 and ZnO). The second group has been said to reflect and scatter UVB and UVA radiation. TiO2 is also extensively used in sunscreen formulations as active broadband sunscreens that blocks both UVB (290–320 nm) and UVA (320–400 nm). Although titanium dioxide is listed as a safe pigment, with no known adverse effects when it is used in cosmetics, but we should concern about ultrafine or nanoparticle form of titanium dioxide. If titanium dioxide particles used to act as a sunscreen are small enough, they can penetrate the cells, leading to photocatalysis within the cell, and cause DNA damage after exposure to sunlight.

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ackground and Aim: Vitiligo is a chronic skin disease which manifests with depigmented patches as a result of absence of skin melanocytes. Vitiligo results in beauty problems which could cause mental disorders. The purpose of this research was to compare the tendency to suicide and stress in patients with vitiligo with those without any skin disease.

Methods: For conducting this research, 30 patients with vitiligo who were referred to the Behsima Skin and Laser Clinic in Tehran during 2016 were recruited. Data were collected using Beck suicide scale ideation and Kohen stress  questionnaires. Thirty demographically-matched individuals without active skin disease over the past six months  were recruited into the study as the control group.

Results:  Mean±standard deviation (SD)  of Beck suicide scale ideation (BSSI) score in patients with vitiligo was 3.67±1.33, significantly higher than 0.37±0.17 in the control group (P=0.02). Mean scores of stress in vitiligo patients was 28.33±9.20, which was also higher than the control group mean, 21.77±8.19 (P=0.005).

Conclusion: Patients with vitiligo had more suicide ideation and stress than normal population. So, in taking care and treating in vitiligo patients, a special attention to the  psychological effects of disease on the lives of the patients is recommended.

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Background and Aim: Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease. Emotion regulation difficulty in patients with psoriasis emphasizes the importance of including a broader approach in clinical management of psoriatic patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on cognitive emotion regulation in patients with psoriasis.

Methods: This study was a semi-experimental study with pre-test, post-test and follow-up. The study population included all the patients with psoriasis referred to specialized dermatology clinics in Khorramabad. The patients were first screened using the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Then 24 patients with psoriasis were selected through convenience sampling method and randomly allocated into experimental and control groups. The instrumental of this study was Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Garnefski & Kraaij, 2006). The experimental group received MBSR intervention during eight sessions. Data analysis was done at descriptive and inferential levels using version 23 of SPSS and with normality tests, MANCOVA and ANCOVA.

Results: MBSR increased the scores of adaptive strategies and decreased the scores of maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies in patient with psoriasis and the effect of treatment was stable at the end of follow-up period (P<0.001).

Conclusion: MBSR skills training can be used as an effective intervention to improve cognitive emotion regulation in patients with psoriasis.

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Background and Aim: The presence of variables such as stress, depression and anxiety can overshadow the life of any individual and deviate them from the main path and consequently, from achieving their goals. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the efficacy of commitment  and acceptance based therapy (ACT) on reducing stress, depression and anxiety in people with gastrointestinal and skin disorders.

Methods: The research method was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest design, utilizing a control group. The recraited population included all patients with skin and hair disorders, as well as gastrointestinal disorders of psychosomatic origin who visited the clinics of internal medicine physicians and dermatologists and the clinics and hospitals in Bukan in 2019. Among 30 patients who had the highest score in the short form of DASS-21 Depression, Anxiety and Stress Questionnaire were purposefully selected and then randomly divided into experimental (15) and control groups (15). The protocol of ACT sessions based on Hayes's (2002) approach was administered to the experimental group for eight 1.5 hour sessions in one month, two sessions per week. The data were analyzed by SPSS software using covariance analysis.

Results: The results showed that there was a significant difference between the means of the experimental and control groups in the variables of stress, depression and anxiety. In fact, ACT reduced the mean stress (7.47±1.959), depression (6.47±1.187), and anxiety (6.67±1.345) in the posttest stage.

Conclusion: Considering the efficacy of this type of treatment, this program is deemed to be a good option for therapists who work in counseling centers and psychological clinics.